That’s good! I’ve never had a problem until my Oder of May 8. It has disappeared. Tracking followed it until May 16 or so, and then__nothing! I filled out Kino’s support form and received a “will follow up “ reply, and that was now a week ago. What now? It’s been a month...

Whenever I see these sad posts about "my wife refused to let me do this and that," all I can think is, "Hey, pal, maybe it's time to consider a divorce?"

Brings new meaning to the term Blu balls.

But I'm not married, so no one should listen to me.

It's an intimidating scenario. Many married couples have joint finances, shared property/home ownership, in addition to being the parents of kids. And some spouses are business partners and/or work together. I have an assertive spouse, like some others here, who is 'bossy' and very vocal in how she wants things done (or not done), so I know how these things go. Divorce proceedings and custody battles can drag on for years as can unhappy marriages. I've also known some of the most macho guys around, like firefighters, military, etc who will freely admit the wife runs the show and calls all the shots.

Just be aware, that unlike Criterion, Kino only does a lot of work remastering only a few titles. Generally they just put out whatever master from a print they get from the studio they have licensed the film from, regardless of quality. There are many very shabby looking blu-rays from Kino. The only good thing is they are cheap, but you get what you pay for.

I swear, I don't know how you remain such a wonderfully positive person day in and day out. Your posts are always so bright and cheerful and genuinely inspiring. I don't think I've ever seen you post a single negative review of a movie or Blu-ray or label, it's just one uplifting and joyous comment after another. I tell you, it's really hard to not appear as a curmudgeon on this site, but damn if you haven't avoided all the pitfalls and mastered the power of positive thinking. I so wish I could continue to follow your sunny optimistic outlook on films and the hobby, but wouldn't you know it, that pesky ignore list seems to be one member short. Ah well, good luck and keep all the great vibes coming!

It's an intimidating scenario. Many married couples have joint finances, shared property/home ownership, in addition to being the parents of kids. And some spouses are business partners and/or work together. I have an assertive spouse, like some others here, who is 'bossy' and very vocal in how she wants things done (or not done), so I know how these things go. Divorce proceedings and custody battles can drag on for years as can unhappy marriages. I've also known some of the most macho guys around, like firefighters, military, etc who will freely admit the wife runs the show and calls all the shots.

I aced that one years ago: just point to her collection of hideously overpriced shoes she's worn maybe once, if that, most of which are still in the boxes.

September is going to be a very busy month with the Dr Who films, the Bob Hope films, and the pre-Code sets. Wonder who the 3 actor film collection will be of and not to mention the 1939 title will be?

For the 3-film actor set, I have a strong feeling it'll be the Bob Hope set the Insider mentioned a while back, given there's two other Hope films coming out that same day. As to what could be in the set, here's what current knowledge/predictions say:

[Show spoiler]Nothing But The Truth (1941) (a clue on HTF on there being more Paulette Goddard films in the deal all but confirmed this one)My Favorite Blonde (1942) (a clue on this site about there being at least 1 Madeleine Carroll film in the deal all but confirmed this one)
1 of Caught In The Draft/Louisiana Purchase (Louisiana Purchase was referenced on a previous Kino release, so it could very well be this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrmikefern

These would all be day one purchases for me. I just hope Kino is listening.

I certainly feel like we might see some of these come from Kino in the future, especially Applause, given Kino was the label that originally released it on DVD in 2003, and when asked about it recently (along with two other Universal films previously released by Kino, The Love Trap (1929) and Counsellor At Law (1933)), the Insider said while they were not in the deal as of the current moment, as they all needed new HD masters/scans, the door was still left open to possibly doing those in the future (indeed, while they said they weren't in the deal now, they never said they wouldn't be interested in doing some of those later).

Interestingly, Applause was also referenced by Kino on their release of Carole Lombard Collection I, along with a whole bunch of new references scattered among various new releases of theirs. As a quick refresher for what these references mean, here's a quote from the user who discovered this connection here:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunsnroses092789

Looks like we are likely to get Sirk’s All I Desire and There’s Always Tomorrow. On the back covers of the individual cases of the Stanwyck collection, it lists those films as other films she’s in, along with the already released Witness to Murder. As most of you know, KL tends to only list movies they’ve released... all the other films listed associated with the other actors in the films have been released already by KL.

Indeed, the two mentioned from the quote did indeed become Kino releases, and I made a list at the time of references Kino had made on previous discs here:

Quote:

Originally Posted by SanCarolina59

[Show spoiler]The Sign Of The Cross (1932) (mentioned on the release of Film Noir Vol. II in reference to actress Claudette Colbert)Hands Across The Table (1935) (mentioned on the release of Supernatual in reference to actress Carole Lombard and Murder, He Says in reference to actor Fred MacMurray)Desire (1936) (mentioned on the release of Angel in reference to actress Marlene Dietrich)Louisiana Purchase (1941) (mentioned on the release of Western Classics I in reference to cinematographer Harry Hallenberger)My Favorite Blonde (1942) (mentioned on the release of The General Died At Dawn in reference to actress Madeleine Carroll)Wake Island (1942) (mentioned on the release of Film Noir Vol. IV in reference to director John Farrow and Film Noir Vol. III in reference to actor Robert Preston)O.S.S. (1946) (mentioned on the release of the Barbara Stanwyck Collection in reference to director Irving Pichel, and on Film Noir Vol. III in reference to actor John Hoyt)Something In the Wind (1947) (mentioned on the release of the Barbara Stanwyck Collection in reference to director Irving Pichel)Singapore (1947) (mentioned on the release of Son Of Ali Baba in reference to cinematographer Maury Gertsman) (NOT ON DVD)The Web (1947) (mentioned on the release of Film Noir Vol. III in reference to director Michael Gordon) (NOT ON DVD)Albuquerque (1948) (mentioned on Western Classics I in reference to actress Barbara Britton)Larceny (1948) (mentioned on Film Noir Vol. III in reference to director George Sherman) (NOT ON DVD)Alias Nick Beal (1949) (mentioned on Film Noir Vol. IV in reference to director John Farrow) (NOT ON DVD)Streets Of Laredo (1949) (mentioned on Western Classics I in reference to director Leslie Fenton) (not on DVD in U.S., PAL DVD of it in France)All I Desire (1953) (mentioned on the release of the Barbara Stanwyck Collection in reference to actress Barbara Stanwyck and on Film Noir Vol. II in reference to director Douglas Sirk)Pillars Of The Sky (1956) (mentioned on the releases of Murder, He Says and Western Classics I in reference to director George Marshall.)There's Always Tomorrow (1956) (mentioned on the release of Film Noir Vol. II in reference to director Douglas Sirk)The Unguarded Moment (1956) (mentioned on the release of Film Noir Vol. II in reference to director Harry Keller)Battle Hymn (1957) (mentioned on the release of Film Noir Vol. II in reference to director Douglas Sirk)Gun For A Coward (1957) (mentioned on the release of Film Noir Vol. II in reference to director Abner Biberman)Quantez (1957) (mentioned on the release of Murder, He Says in reference to actor Fred MacMurray)

Since that time, both The Sign Of The Cross and Wake Island have indeed become Kino releases, along with All I Desire and There's Always Tomorrow from above as well.

To that end, there's been a slew of new references lately, and here's a list of them below (of the newer releases, Backlash (1956) was referenced as well on the release of the Audie Murphy Collection, but since it's been officially confirmed, it's not on the list below):

Applause (1929) (mentioned on the release of Carole Lombard Collection I in reference to actor Henry Wadsworth)Queen High (1930) (mentioned on the release of Carole Lombard Collection I in reference to director Fred C. Newmeyer) (NOT ON DVD)City Streets (1931) (mentioned on the release of Carole Lombard Collection I in reference to actress Wynne Gibson)The Mystery Of Edwin Drood (1935) (mentioned on the release of The Eagle And The Hawk in reference to director Stuart Walker) (Special Note: This may very well be the "maybe" 1930s horror film Kino has mentioned before, although I wouldn't expect news on it, if it is indeed the "maybe" 1930s horror film, for a while as the last time the Insider was asked about it, they said it wasn't a 100% confirmed thing they'd be able to do the film in question.)The Shepherd Of The Hills (1941) (mentioned on the release of Raid On Rommel in reference to director Henry Hathaway)Night Has A Thousand Eyes (1948) (mentioned on the release of Wake Island in reference to director John Farrow) (Not on DVD in the U.S., PAL DVD of it released in Germany)Horizons West (1952) (mentioned on the release of Red Ball Express in reference to director Budd Boetticher)To Hell And Back (1955) (mentioned on the release of Audie Murphy Collection in reference to director Jesse Hibbs)

I'd love to hear what others think about these new references, especially on what everybody thinks the chances of some of these could be.

It strikes me that much of Paramount‘s pre-code library is ripe for release by Kino but is going largely ignored outside of a few titles. I hope they start to see the value in these films since they’re now starting to release more actor-based collections. So many Paramount stars have obscure unreleased titles that, while unviable as individual releases, would make sense as 3+ film collections (akin to their upcoming Reginald Denny collection). Gary Cooper, Kay Francis, Claudette Colbert, Ruth Chatterton, Tallulah Bankhead, Fredric March, William Powell, Miriam Hopkins. Their early films deserve the exposure. I’m over the moon about Man Of The World and No Man Of Her Own coming to light on Blu-ray, but I look forward to seeing titles that never even made it to VHS. Had these ultra-star-power Paramount titles been under the Warner umbrella, they’d have seen DVD releases before the 2010s. But Universal would rather have us quintuple-dip their (admittedly lucrative) Monster titles, though.

As none of them is part of neither of Kino/Universal deals, but both were very often requested titles in this thread, I think some will be glad to know that Universal just released a Bluray edition of "To Each his Own"in Spain and will release "North West Mounted Police" there in July. Both official discs.

Universal just released a Bluray edition of "To Each his Own"in Spain and will release "North West Mounted Police" there in July. Both official discs.

This is great news! Hopefully that means a US disc is on the way (probably via Universal’s pressed MOD line) but I don’t know if I can wait now that I know it’s out there somewhere. Would you happen to know if it the Spanish subtitles are removable?

It strikes me that much of Paramount‘s pre-code library is ripe for release by Kino but is going largely ignored outside of a few titles. I hope they start to see the value in these films since they’re now starting to release more actor-based collections. So many Paramount stars have obscure unreleased titles that, while unviable as individual releases, would make sense as 3+ film collections. Gary Cooper, Kay Francis, Claudette Colbert, Ruth Chatterton, Tallulah Bankhead, Fredric March, William Powell, Miriam Hopkins. Their early films deserve the exposure. I’m over the moon about Man Of The World and No Man Of Her Own coming to light on Blu-ray, but I look forward to seeing titles that never even made it to VHS. Had these ultra-star-power Paramount titles been under the Warner umbrella, they’d have seen DVD releases before the 2010s. But Universal would rather have us quintuple-dip their (admittedly lucrative) Monster titles, though.

Agreed 100%. I'd love for Universal to issue even more of it's pre-code library, both the Paramount films and Universal's own films (for Universal's own non-horror pre-codes, they've only issued/liscensed a grand total of 4 on DVD/Blu-ray) as well. I have to thank Kino for releasing Universal's pre-code library, as outside of the few Criterion and other labels have released/licensed, the vast majority of Universal pre-codes on Blu-ray have been all from Kino, and likely the hopes for other pre-code Universal films to get a release on Blu-ray lie with Kino.

As for why Universal hasn't released more pre-codes themselves on DVD/Blu-ray themselves, I think it could also come down to legal issues and element issues as well. Some of the Paramount pre-codes are entangled today in legal issues, like The Vagabond King (1930) and Follow Thru (1930). The bigger problem probably lies in element issues, as for the whole 1929-1949 Paramount library, the nitrate OCNs for the majority of the black & white films were junked by MCA in 1958 after they made shoddy, quickly made dupes, with the junking stopping after Universal merged with MCA in 1962, and Universal immediately ordering a stop to the junking, but with a good bit of damage already done. Then in the 1970s, Paramount was about to junk the remnants of their studio library of nitrate prints (the library in question was a reference library Paramount used for backups in case OCNs was damaged, and for internal screenings of films for guests of the studio) especially the ones sold to MCA/Universal, as they felt there was no need to keep them. Thankfully, UCLA stepped in and was able to acquire those nitrate prints, of which several of the Universal-owned Paramount pre-codes (and other films) have been sourced from for various releases.

Special Note: The nitrate OCNs for the 3-Strip Technicolor films from Paramount were not junked, so all releases of Paramount 3-Strip Technicolor films today from Universal are all from the original 3-Strip OCNs and original IPs of them with their full color range and vibrancy, unlike the Fox Technicolor films, which had all of their nitrate OCNs and IPs junked after being transferred to Eastmancolor film, which makes all Fox Technicolor films today look only barely close to the original colors they had. Eg. Kino's release of Desert Fury (1947) (and other Universal-owned Paramount Technicolor films) is better representative of it's original colors (in fact, fully representative of its original colors, apart from minor registration errors) than Fox's release of The Black Swan (1942) (and other Fox Technicolor films), due to the original nitrate Universal-Paramount elements still being extant, and the Fox elements being long junked.

That being said, as of today, it can be a challenge for Universal to restore it's Paramount library, given several of the circa 1958 MCA dupes have gone vinegar, and the UCLA nitrates of the Paramount films are not complete (indeed, several films had deteriorated already before UCLA acquired the studio reference library, making it incomplete to begin with), and it presents a patchwork of problems, in which for some films, no nitrate survives, but a not so great 1958 MCA dupe survives, and for some, a single nitrate print (most of the time from the UCLA collection, but sometimes other places as well) is all that prevents a film from being completely lost.

Special Note: For pre-code films in particular, MCA prior to merging with Universal was pretty rough with them. Paramount had not paid much attention to their pre-code films while they still owned them prior to 1958, as many of them contained pre-code content that would make them a complete non-starter for reissue at that time under the Hays Code, even if heavily edited/censored. When MCA approached Paramount to buy the 1929-1949 sound films for 50 million dollars (around 443 million today, adjusted for inflation), Paramount was thrilled someone was interested in their older films, given they didn't see any value in any of them themselves, and wash their hands of those films to a great extent. MCA wanted to be picky and choosy with what films they got from Paramount, but due to pressure/very favorable negotiation terms from Paramount, they ended up taking around 750 sound films from 1929-1949, with the majority of Paramount's pre-code films included (aside from what had been sold off to other studios for remake purposes). MCA soon ran into issues with airing many of the pre-code films on TV, due to objections by local stations over their salacious content, with MCA only able to air the ones that had been already cut/censored by Paramount (thankfully, MCA didn't cut any of the films they already owned that hadn't been cut, or make further cuts to already cut films). Of particular trouble to MCA were pre-1932 films, as many TV stations were hesitant to play those films due to the age of those films and the early sound recording techniques making them undesirable to many TV stations and their sponsors, leading MCA to neglect those films preservation wise until Universal merged with them in 1962, after which preservation of them started.

To cap things off, while I think Universal can certainly do more to release more pre-code films, I can see why they haven't in a sense. To give them credit where it's due, they are quite license friendly, and seemingly any of those films, provided there's no legal/element issues, are available to license for Kino/others, as they'll even let licensees like Kino and others go in and scan the films themselves, even if it already has an HD master.

As a side note, while writing this whole thing out, and looking at the Universal owned Paramount pre-code films, I thought of an idea for a possible set. Theoretically (assuming no legal or otherwise issues with them), Kino could release a William Powell-Philo Vance set of the 3 Paramount Philo Vance films (The Canary Murder Case (1929), The Greene Murder Case (1929), and The Benson Murder Case (1930)). I'd certainly be all for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rafows

As none of them is part of neither of Kino/Universal deals, but both were very often requested titles in this thread, I think some will be glad to know that Universal just released a Bluray edition of "To Each his Own"in Spain and will release "North West Mounted Police" there in July. Both official discs.

Well, this is interesting. I haven't seen much on North West Mounted Police being a later add on or not (no one's asked the Insider about that film in particular to my knowledge, the only reason we know it's not in the deal is that when asked about what Gary Cooper films were in the deal, the Insider said no 1940s Cooper films were in the deal), but To Each His Own was asked about several times on here, with the Insider saying that while it's not in the deal as of current, it might be added later on (indeed, some of the posts on it made it seem as though they were actively looking into the possibility of releasing it), although it may or may not suffer from legal issues. Given there's now an official release from Spain, I'm inclined to think either the possible legal issues with this have either been resolved, or the possible legal issues in question are surmountable and not an impenetrable guard blocking it from release (Kino reportedly had to wrangle with legal issues for a while before they were able to clear The Cat And The Canary (1939) for release).

O, Lucky Man is Warner Bros. Unless Warner Archive or Criterion see demand for a BD release, you're gonna be in for a long wait.

O, Lucky Man is my favorite of Lindsay Anderson's films and I think it had been quite well received. I even ended up buying the Soundtrack. I hope it does get a bluray release and it doesnt get forgotten.

O, Lucky Man is Warner Bros. Unless Warner Archive or Criterion see demand for a BD release, you're gonna be in for a long wait.

Oh yeah. Forgot that it was owned by Warners Bros. Warner is one of my favorite companies as they made a lot of my favorite films and it sounds like from you that it is going to take a long time which I don't mind at all. I hope they do think about releasing it. It's not a great film that I LOVE love but it's always so fun watching the first half of the film. The second half is kinda depressing and all messages. But still, I wouldn't mind seeing a film as crazy as that again. I bet it's going to be with Warner Archive.